Messages - RickLax.com

Last night I went out to dinner with my friend Alicja. I ordered the fish sandwich, which, the menu told me, cost $15. I asked the waitress whether I could substitute the fries that came with it for a baked potato, and she told me that I could.

The sandwich was fair. The taste was there, only the fish piece was long and skinny, so half of it hung over the bun and half the bun bites had no fish in them.

The bill came:

Fish Sandwich: $17.50

“Excuse me, but I thought the menu said the fish sandwich was fifteen dollars.”

This wasn’t a date, I should mention. If Alicja and I were on a date, I would have let it slide, of course.

“Hmm…I think that’s because you substituted the fries for the baked potato.”

“I wouldn’t have made the substitute if I had known it’d cost extra.”

“Let me see what I can do.”

I assumed the waitress was going to try to take the $2.50 off the bill.

I was wrong. She sent the manager over, and his opening line was this:

“I understand there’s a problem.”

“I wouldn’t call it a problem, I just-”

“Julie here tells me that you’re not willing to pay for your bill.”

Well that pissed me off.

“Actually, I didn’t say that. What I said was that I wouldn’t have substituted my fries for the baked potato if I had known it’d cost me extra. Julie, I guess her name is, didn’t tell me that it’d cost extra, so I don’t see why I should have to pay.”

The manager got a menu, shoved it in my face, and pointed to the line that said, “All side-order substitutions: $2.50”

“Well,” I said, “that’s fine. But I didn’t see it at the time.”

“It’s right there!”

“It’s hardly clear and conspicuous, and the truth is, I wasn’t on notice, so I-”

Last night I went out to dinner with my friend Alicja. I ordered the fish sandwich, which, the menu told me, cost $15. I asked the waitress whether I could substitute the fries that came with it for a baked potato, and she told me that I could.

The sandwich was fair. The taste was there, only the fish piece was long and skinny, so half of it hung over the bun and half the bun bites had no fish in them.

The bill came:

Fish Sandwich: $17.50

“Excuse me, but I thought the menu said the fish sandwich was fifteen dollars.”

This wasn’t a date, I should mention. If Alicja and I were on a date, I would have let it slide, of course.

“Hmm…I think that’s because you substituted the fries for the baked potato.”

“I wouldn’t have made the substitute if I had known it’d cost extra.”

“Let me see what I can do.”

I assumed the waitress was going to try to take the $2.50 off the bill.

I was wrong. She sent the manager over, and his opening line was this:

“I understand there’s a problem.”

“I wouldn’t call it a problem, I just-”

“Julie here tells me that you’re not willing to pay for your bill.”

Well that pissed me off.

“Actually, I didn’t say that. What I said was that I wouldn’t have substituted my fries for the baked potato if I had known it’d cost me extra. Julie, I guess her name is, didn’t tell me that it’d cost extra, so I don’t see why I should have to pay.”

The manager got a menu, shoved it in my face, and pointed to the line that said, “All side-order substitutions: $2.50”

“Well,” I said, “that’s fine. But I didn’t see it at the time.”

“It’s right there!”

“It’s hardly clear and conspicuous, and the truth is, I wasn’t on notice, so I-”

If you’re planning on going to law school in the fall and wondering what it’s like, you could do worse than to pick up a copy of [my book], my law school memoir, which comes out tomorrow. It’ll give you a pretty good idea of what it’s like.

So I’m studying for the bar, and apparently there’s something called the Rule of Perpetuities, and apparently it’s like the #1 most important law in the entire American legal system. (Judging by how many questions on the bar deal with it.) I don’t understand it, but I feel pretty confident (again, based on how much it’s covered on the bar) that it stands as the pillar upon which the rest of the judicial system rests.

I talked with some people from other sections, and none of them went over it in class either. Are we alone, or have some of you not covered it either?

Has anyone found this process actually worthwhile? As a law student, I'm sure most people here can attest to how grades can seem totally misrepresentative of how well you know the material and how well you can apply it (in other words, the professor just wanted to finish grading 150 exams), but that's belly-aching that I've done too much of lately, and I'll steer clear. My question is, is it even worth it to approach professors about your exam? I know some people say it's worth looking over your tests to see where you can do better, to talk to professors and work on improving your writing, bla bla. Seems like a load of crap to me to be honest. But has anyone actually had a grade changed? I have a number of solid points to bring up for my property exam, but law school seems to be so dedicated to the theory of professor infallability, and it makes me wonder if it's even worth my time to argue these points to my professor. She is very friendly and open to students, but I feel like she'll just find my arguments a personal attack on her grading, and dig her feet in and not budge. Thoughts?

Never heard of anybody ever having a grade changed. But if you're going to have the prof again, then do it. 1) you might actually learn what they're after on an exam. 2) the next time around, they'll be less likely to give you a bad grade 'cause it'd be like them acknowledging that they were unable to help you out when you came to them for help. it'd be like them giving a bad grade to themselves.

If you have to come to this website and ask for help in arguing a point, maybe the Dean's List just isn't for you (or your friend in this case).

I'm kinda surprised by all the negative replies, like this one. I mean, the poster is asking for help making an argument...the future lawyers are the ones supposed to be giving them, not taking the side of the school. Thats what judges and juries are for.

I am really interested in seeing a slice of what you are going through so that I can prepare myself down the road when my turn comes. Is there anything you wish you had known but did not that you would care to share?

Also, is there anything you wish you would have done prior to arriving at LS that you feel would have helped?

I'm just trying to "see through your eyes" rather than relying on "The Paper Chase" and the very few books that are out on this subject.

Thanks, and continued success!!!!

Just remember that your school grades on the curve. Everybody is as confused as you are. You don't need to understand everything; you just need to understand more than the guy sitting next to you and the girl behind you. To get a good grade, that is. If you want to represent me, well...

On Friday night at 1AM, I ran into one of my classmates a Wicker Park hookah lounge. I’m pretty sure this guy was at the very top of our graduating class.

Here’s the story he recounted to me:

“My cousin took the bar last year. He said he did barely any studying in June. He constantly left the BarBri review lectures early, and got wasted every night. A week before the exam, reality hit; he got serious and spent every single hour studying. And guess what? He passed. He told me this: “If you just study for one hour every day, you’ll be fine.”

And now, a somewhat related statistic: Last year, of all the students in the upper-half of DePaul’s graduating class (of 220 or so), all but six passed the bar.

So what the hell am I supposed to do with this anecdote and statistic? Using them as an excuse to study less?